Tuesday, 25 January 2011

Gulf Spill Oil to Enter Supply Chain, Profits to go to Charity

Oil from the worst oil spill in U.S. history will soon end up being refined and sold at gas stations as part of an effort by BP to raise money to protect wildlife that would be affected by the spill. BP announced that it will donate the profits from the sales of oil from the spill to a fund that will seek to protect and restore damaged habitat throughout the Gulf region. No specifics were released, but assurances were made that the oil would not differ from other oil being released into the market.

Noted Julius Langlinais, professor emeritus of petroleum engineering at Louisiana State University, "Oil is oil. There’s no stamp or anything on it. It’s all the same molecules." With BPs efforts, quite a bit of oil should enter the market and go towards environmental protection and cleanup. Scientists have thus far estimated that between 40 million and 109 million gallons of oil have rushed into the Gulf from the underwater gusher. BP is still in negotiations to find a buyer for the spilled oil.

Noted BP spokesman Mark Proegler, "There’s nothing special about it, other than everyone’s looking at it. I think it’s an eye opening experience for people who don’t give it much thought when they finally realize how much their lives depend on oil." At present, a drill ship is taking in 756,000 gallons of oil each day from the containment cap that rests atop the well head. That oil will then be transported and refined to enter the market.